Latest news with #MitchStarc
The Australian
17-07-2025
- Sport
- The Australian
Cricket: Scott Boland ranked sixth best bowler in the world
He only plays one Test at a time but Scott Boland has vaulted into the top 10 on the ICC rankings on the back of his West Indian hat-trick. Boland, who took 3-2 in the final Test in Jamaica after being overlooked for the first two, is now the sixth ranked bowler in the world, ahead of man-of-the series Mitch Starc, who is 10th. The entire first-choice Australian attack all sit comfortably in the top 10, with captain Pat Cummins at three, Josh Hazlewood at four and spin star Nathan Lyon, who was left out for Boland in the West Indies, at number eight. It's a staggering feat for Boland, who has resigned himself to being a horses-for-courses selection, behind Cummins, Hazlewood and Starc despite performing whenever called upon. Australia's Scott Boland celebrates after his hat-trick. Picture: AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan The 36-year-old Victorian took three wickets in both innings of the final Test, a day-night affair at Sabina Park, taking his career haul to 62 from just 14 games, with regular spells out of the Australian team. His bowling average of 16.53 puts him among the most effective in the game's history. Speaking after his brilliant turn in Jamaica, Boland said he's comfortable knowing his role was to do a job when called upon behind some of the best fast bowlers the game has ever seen. 'I'm playing with three of the best fast bowlers Australia has ever had, so I'm happy to be in behind them,' Boland said. 'It's going to extend all of our careers if we can all stay on the park and keep bowling really well, so I'm happy with that. 'I know I'm not going to play every game, so I can be really specific with my training, and then when I get to a Test match I'm going to play, I'm ready to go.' Confirmation of the brilliance of the Australian bowling attack comes through in the rankings. What a team - Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Scott Boland with the Frank Worrell Trophy. Picture: Supplied It's the first time since 1958 a team has had six bowlers ranked in the world's top 10. Lyon dropped a spot after being omitted to allow Boland to play in Jamaica, while Starc remained in 10th spot despite his haul of 6-9 in the second innings in his 100th Test, which took him past 400 career wickets.
News.com.au
17-07-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Scott Boland jumps to sixth best bowler in world after West Indies hat-trick
He only plays one Test at a time but Scott Boland has vaulted into the top 10 on the ICC rankings on the back of his West Indian hat-trick. Boland, who took 3-2 in the final Test in Jamaica after being overlooked for the first two, is now the sixth ranked bowler in the world, ahead of man-of-the series Mitch Starc, who is 10th. The entire first-choice Australian attack all sit comfortably in the top 10, with captain Pat Cummins at three, Josh Hazlewood at four and spin star Nathan Lyon, who was left out for Boland in the West Indies, at number eight. It's a staggering feat for Boland, who has resigned himself to being a horses-for-courses selection, behind Cummins, Hazlewood and Starc despite performing whenever called upon. The 36-year-old Victorian took three wickets in both innings of the final Test, a day-night affair at Sabina Park, taking his career haul to 62 from just 14 games, with regular spells out of the Australian team. His bowling average of 16.53 puts him among the most effective in the game's history. Speaking after his brilliant turn in Jamaica, Boland said he's comfortable knowing his role was to do a job when called upon behind some of the best fast bowlers the game has ever seen. 'I'm playing with three of the best fast bowlers Australia has ever had, so I'm happy to be in behind them,' Boland said. 'It's going to extend all of our careers if we can all stay on the park and keep bowling really well, so I'm happy with that. 'I know I'm not going to play every game, so I can be really specific with my training, and then when I get to a Test match I'm going to play, I'm ready to go.' Confirmation of the brilliance of the Australian bowling attack comes through in the rankings. It's the first time since 1958 a team has had six bowlers ranked in the world's top 10. Lyon dropped a spot after being omitted to allow Boland to play in Jamaica, while Starc remained in 10th spot despite his haul of 6-9 in the second innings in his 100th Test, which took him past 400 career wickets.
News.com.au
06-07-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Pat Cummins has told teen star Sam Konstas not to get caught up failures after his West Indies flops
Australian captain Pat Cummins has urged Sam Konstas to put failures out of his mind adamant at his best the teen opener is 'good enough' to succeed but also conceding the upcoming challenge of a pink-ball Test in Jamaica looms as difficult for everyone. The tourists wrapped up the series after the Australian bowlers skittled the West Indies for just 143 in the second Test in Grenada to register a 133-run win, on the back of a man-of-the match performance from keeper Alex Carey and 3-24 from fast bowler Mitch Starc in his 99th match, A 3-0 whitewash is on offer in the series decider in Jamaica but Cummins conceded the move to a pink Dukes ball for the series closer created an atmosphere of 'you never quite know what you're going to get'. There are also some lingering issues over the infrastructure at Sabina Park after the installation of new floodlights with concerns one area of the ground is not sufficiently lit under the lights. That could add extra spice to the contest with Konstas in the spotlight after a second-innings duck in Grenada left him with just 33 runs from four innings having been reinstalled as Australia's opener. Cummins said the message to the young star remained clear, however, and he'd been reminded he would fail more often than he would succeed. 'I think for anyone who's starting out their Test career, you are picked for a reason and you know at his best, we know he's good enough,' Cummins said. 'So I think it's just about concentrating on what makes you a really good player. For someone like a batter, it might be, where your scoring areas are, kind of what tempo do you normally operate at your best, and just don't get too caught in, you know, every innings feels like the biggest thing in the world. 'But I think the stat is, even the best batters in the world don't hit their average three out of four times or something like that. You're going to fail more often than you're going to succeed. 'So just, you know, as long as you're a quick learner, as long as you're moving well and giving yourself the best chance, you know, just keep kind of doubling down on that and judge yourself after a series or so, not innings by innings.' Cummins hailed Carey, who is the second leading run-score in the series, and said he'd become the type of players other teams would now fear. 'I mean, he's about four or five years into his test career. I think in the last year or so, it's probably been his most prolific,' Cummins said. 'He looks really settled and any opposition that kind of has a number seven, it's normally a keeper, but walks in and you know they're kind of in good form, they can move the game quickly, they're some of the scariest players and feel really like that we've got Kez in our side that does that. 'He's great, he's keeping really well also but always seems to contribute.'
The Hindu
17-06-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
Make the World Test Championship more inclusive in two groups
In the next 15 months, South Africa, World Test champions, play no series at home. This says something important about their win in the final at Lord's where they beat Australia convincingly in what their low-key leader, Tenda Bavuma, the first Black man to captain the country called, 'a win for the 'small' teams. These currently being nine of 12 Test nations outside the so-called Big Three of India, England, Australia who have greater resources, larger talent pools and more victories in ICC tournaments. In England — where the final was played — fans of English cricket (and some players) thought South Africa didn't deserve to be in the final; their cricket board focused on two-Test series like someone forced to meet a requirement while the real thing was being played elsewhere. They had sent a 'B' team to New Zealand and unsurprisingly lost the series while the main players remained at home to play T20 franchise cricket. While other cricket boards at least made a show of encouraging Test cricket, South Africa's gave up all pretense and simply gave in to the current money machine. They played neither Australia nor England in the third cycle of the World Test Championship which now has three different winners, after New Zealand, another small team, won the inaugural final and Australia the next. Twists and turns The final was everything Test cricket is about. Unpredictable, for one, with as many twists and turns as a road to a hilltop. Emotionally draining for supporters, with every possibility alive almost till the end. One moment Australia looked like a team that could not lose, next, like one that could not win. After the first day, Mitch Starc the batter turned out to be more effective than Mitch Starc the bowler. Commentators told us the pitch was slow, it was fast, the ball was coming on, it wasn't coming on, Australia were too far ahead for it to be competitive, perhaps merely giving breath to their biases. Aidan Markham played the innings of his life; so did Bavuma, who went from being a symbol (he was called a 'quota captain' when he took over) to an individual with a big heart and a calculating head. He has won nine of his first ten Tests, leading South Africa to eight wins in a row at the end of it. Does this mean Test cricket will get a boost in South Africa or that the country's reputation of being chokers will no longer apply? The former depends on their administrators and the latter on the players. But what of the WTC itself? Is it time to have at least a three-Test final because a series win is the essence of the format? Importantly, is it time to look at some other changes? We must begin with an understanding — that we cannot allow the perfect to be the enemy of the good. Looking for the perfect system is fine, but waiting till we have one before starting the World Test Championship cycles would have worked against it. That only nine of the 12 countries playing Test cricket are involved in the WTC cycle means that 'lesser' teams ( one step below Bavuma's 'small' teams) will continue to struggle. Most experts are against the notion of splitting the teams into two groups, fearing that this will lead to endless matches among India, England, Australia with the others getting further marginalised. New structure But if the two groups are divided so that every alternate team is in one group – thus, teams ranked in the odd number, one, three five in one and two, four, six in the other, it would mean all twelve get to be involved. Going by the current rankings, therefore, Australia, England, New Zealand, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan would be in one group while South Africa, India, Sri Lanka, West Indies, Ireland and Zimbabwe would be in the other. No promotion or relegation, no greater and lesser group. It will also help with the scheduling too. The cycle could be of three years rather than the current two. And the points system simplified. England skipper Ben Stokes has called the competition 'utterly confusing'. The aim should be to make it less confusing and more inclusive, as any World championship ought to be.
The Age
13-06-2025
- Sport
- The Age
Australia vs South Africa LIVE: Australian needs tail to wag to set decent World Test Championship target at Lord's
Latest posts Latest posts 7.00pm All eyes on the tail How much is enough? It is the question on every Australian cricket fans' lips tonight as we resume on 8-144 against South Africa in the World Test Championship Final at Lord's. Heading into day three, starting at 7.30pm AEST, the Australians lead by 218 runs with two wickets in hand - Mitch Starc is 16 not out, Nathan Lyon is on one not out, and Josh Hazelwood will have the pads on ready to bat. Fair chance he's a nervous wreck, knowing he's next man in. So far, 28 wickets have fallen across two days - at an average of 17.6 runs per scalp - so the Lord's strip could hardly be considered a batting paradise. More like a minefield. But all it takes is for one of the South Africans to get a hold of the Australian attack and any total fewer than 250 will look like chicken feed. Let's hope, for the Aussie fans sake, that Starc gets busy early, slogs a few over cow corner - because we know he ain't Don Bradman - and give us at least a 250-run advantage. Loading For those who have been stuck under a rock for the past two days, here's a quick recap of the action so far: Day one: Crumble city. Australia is all out for 212. Beau Webster starts like a C-grader but finds form to top score with 72, while the ever reliable Steve Smith grinds out 66. Kagiso Rabada is potent, snaring 5-51, including the top order scalps of Usman Khwaja (duck), Cameron Green (four) and Webster. Marco Jansen claims three wicket. South Africa top order is bamboozled by the Australian quicks late in the day to slump to 4-43 at stumps. Day two: The Australians wrap up the South African innings for a meagre 138 runs. David Bedingham provides the main resistance with 45, but not before a mini panic attack when he grabs a ball that has become wedged in the top of his pad. Skipper Pat Cummins is the chief destroyer - who else? - with 6-28. For trivia buffs, it's the first time a fast bowling captain has taken five wickets in an innings at Lord's since Bob Willis in 1982. For those young bucks born after 1990, you might have to Google Bob. Cummins sits equal-second on the list of Test captains with the most five-wicket hauls, alongside Richie Benaud on nine, and behind Imran Khan's 12. Legends. Batting for a second time, the Australians make their first innings look like a run fest, staggering to 8-144 by the close of play. Glovesman Alex Carey is top scorer with 43, while Mitch Starc (16) and Nathan Lyon (one) are still at the crease. Rabada has taken 3-44, while Lungi Ngidi has 3-35. 6.55pm Labuschagne on borrowed time By Daniel Brettig London: If this game has been the ultimate Test, as billed by its promoters, then Australia's increasingly fragile batting line-up has largely failed its questions. Hoping to settle their top six ahead of the Ashes at home this summer, the national selectors – all of them in attendance at Lord's this week – have a long list of fresh queries about how to produce the runs required to keep winning games. The game is in fast-forward, but Alex Carey (43) and Mitchell Starc (16 not out) fought through the final hour on day two to be 8-144 at stumps. Usman Khawaja (zero and six) and Cameron Green (four and zero) were taken apart by the formidable Kagiso Rabada in both innings. Marnus Labuschagne (17 and 22) entered this game with the most pressing doubts around his place, having been shunted up to open so that room could be made for Green. With a start in each innings, he looked momentarily secure. But his problems are less to do with early trouble than some troubling patterns once he's spent time at the crease. Labuschagne is vulnerable around off stump, so often caught behind. He has developed a tendency to feel for the bat on the ball, when his earlier Test innings were marked by sharp judgment of what to leave alone. Soon to turn 31, Labuschagne is young enough to rise again should the selectors wield the axe in the Caribbean, but the issues around him are mounting.
